READINGSERIESDIGSINTOKANSASLITERATURE

Dorothy and Toto could not wait to get back home to Kansas, and neither can a growing number of writers, who feature the Sunflower State in their fiction and nonfiction.

And the Kansas reading series being offered through the Lawrence Public Library, 707 Vt., gives readers the chance to delve in depth into Kansas literature.

"Kansas Literary Heritage" is the latest in a series of "Talk About Literature in Kansas" discussions sponsored by the Kansas Humanities Council at the library.

The literary heritage series showcases four books by Kansas authors. Each book, along with reference discussion material, is provided to the first 30 participants who sign up.

A guest lecturer for each book leads the group in discussing the material, with the groups meeting biweekly on Wednesday nights. The series starts Wednesday.

"It brings together a group of people of all backgrounds and ages, whose discussions bring up challenging ideas. It also serves a lot of people," Sandra Wiechert, community relations coordinator and librarian, said.

The series' books include "Trail of the Spanish Bit," by Don Coldsmith; "Sod and Stubble," by John Ise; "The Last Cattle Drive," by Robert Day; and "The Learning Tree," by Gordon Parks.

Guest lecturers will be Denise Low and James Stevens from Haskell Indian Nations University, Richard Keller from Emporia State University and Deborah Dandridge from Kansas University.

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